On Dec. 2 Maria Einolf lit
the first candle on the Advent wreath at the parish she has been
attending for five decades. A member of St. Nicholas Parish in south
Laurel, Einolf, 95, joined more than 300 fellow parishioners, neighbors
and friends – including the parish’s former pastors – to attend Mass and
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the parish.

In the months following the active
hurricane season that produced Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, people
throughout the Archdiocese of Washington have generously given to
parish, school and archdiocesan efforts to aid the victims of the
natural disasters.

This past summer,
eight teens from St. Rose of Lima Parish in Gaithersburg traveled to
Cincinnati to participate in the Youth Music Ministry Institute during
the National Association of Pastoral Musicians’ annual convention.

The Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington is holding its annual gala on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. This year, Cardinal Gregorio
Rosa Chávez, an auxiliary bishop of San Salvador who was good friends
with Blessed Oscar Romero, will be a special guest at the gala.

After the Revival Choir sang an exultant closing hymn that included the refrain, “Go out, go out and tell the Good News,” a joyful congregation of more than 700 people left the Oct. 4 closing Mass of the 28th annual East of the River Revival at Holy Family Church in Hillcrest Heights, seemingly determined to do just that.

On the 100th anniversary of the sixth and final apparition of Mary to three shepherd children in 1917 at Fatima, Portugal, Southern Maryland Catholics were encouraged to share Christ’s light with others during a Votive Mass to Our Lady of Fatima at St. Aloysius Church, and then they joined the procession to do just that.

Just as the apostles were given the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, the Church today needs the Holy Spirit to help it
proclaim the Gospel, said Father Rory Conley, the pastor of St. Mary’s
Parish in Bryantown.

For the first time in almost 40 years, a solar eclipse occurring Monday, Aug. 21 will be visible coast to coast in the continental United States. Father Peter Giovanoni, pastor of St. Michael Parish in Ridge, Maryland, who earned a doctorate in astrophysics before entering the seminary, is well prepared to witness from his Southern Maryland parish the special celestial event that happens when the earth crosses with the shadow of the moon.

The 100th
anniversary of Blessed Romero’s birth, Aug. 15, 2017, falls on the
glorious Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Blessed
Romero’s 1977 homily for the Feast of the Assumption, and more
importantly, his steadfast work for justice on behalf on his beloved
Salvadoran people, can shed light on this feast.

The choir from St. Columba Church in Oxon Hill literally took its show on the road this week as it sang backup for Barry Manilow when the pop star performed July 24 and 25 at the Theater at MGM National Harbor.

In 1967, the Capilla Latina,
which means “little Latin chapel” in Spanish, opened as a mission to
serve the growing immigrant community in Washington. Nearly 20 years
later, in 1986, the mission became Our Lady Queen of the Americas Parish
and was named the official Hispanic parish for the Archdiocese of
Washington.

When St. Andrew first met
Jesus, the first thing He did was tell His brother, Simon Peter, that he
had found the Messiah. At St. Andrew Apostle Parish in Silver Spring,
parishioners are encouraged to follow in the footsteps of their patron.